A tremendous amount of Missouri River energy flows past a given point each day here in the Bismarck-Mandan area. Only a few days ago we drove up to the powerhouse gates at Garrison Dam and marveled at the gushing, foaming water released from Lake Sacajawea. The cfs rate
has increased since then and is projected to increase even further in the coming days. (People are evacuating.) I don't know if the generating turbines output is greater under these conditions, but I would guess not since their spin rate must be tightly controlled. But, this situation makes me think about power and the problems of providing it for the world's growing demand.
One of the news sources I read regularly posted an article today that caught my attention: Germany plans to phase out all their nuclear generating plants by 2022, eleven years from now. Germany's chancellor Merkel holds a Ph. D. in physics; after watching Japan's recent disaster at Fukushima's nuclear facility, the aftermath of a strong earthquake and powerful tsunami, she decided the risks of atomic energy are too great to ride those work horses any farther into the future. Apparently, Italy abandoned their plants after the Russian Chernobyl disaster, and, too, Switzerland plans to begin shutting down their plants after reaching their average life span of 50 years; the last one to be shut down in 2034.
Even with my scientific ignorance, these developments are very eye opening. I suppose I complacently accepted the notion that atomic energy was the future. Maybe not. And my mind began to change even a bit before. I subscribe to a small circulation magazine, "The Sun," an ad free publication that features just plain good writing. The latest issue, received just a few days ago, carried an interview article featuring the actor Peter Coyote. I've never cared or thought much about him except that he has a great voice for film voice-overs. Reading those words that reflect his knowledge and outlook made me read carefully, however. Nuclear energy entered into this discussion, and he stated that it is expensive, dirty, and waste needs to be stored for a hundred thousand years. He says, "It can't be done ... You can't avoid the 'oops' factor with humans, and you can't afford an 'oops' with a deadly material that stays poisonous forever." His comments were made before Japan's recent disaster; what would he have said then.
Maybe wind towers and solar energy will take their place as the best bet for future energy. I wonder how long it will take, though. Twenty coal trains still roll through here every day, and people are going crazy with delight as they drill in North Dakota's productive oil formations.
